The Southwestern College football team was out-gained 450-424 yards and converted just two of 15 third-down attempts for first downs but still came out on top on the scoreboard by defeating the host College of the Desert Roadrunners, 41-33, in a key American Mountain Conference game last Saturday (Nov. 1) in Palm Desert.
The Jaguars (7-1) host San Bernardino Valley College (5-3) Saturday (Nov. 8) in yet another important gridiron match-up, with a post-season bowl berth likely on the line. Kick-off is 6 p.m.
Southwestern now stands 4-1 in conference play while San Bernardino is 3-2 in conference play — one game back in the standings.
Victor Valley continues to occupy first place with a 5-0 conference record. The Rams are 8-0 and are ranked No. 1 among American Division teams.
The Jaguars, winners of four straight games, are ranked second in the conference.
Replay
Both Southwestern and Desert entered last week’s game tied for second place in the conference standings with identical 3-1 conference records. But the Jaguars made no mistake which team was the better one after zooming to a 34-0 lead in the contest.
The Roadrunners (4-4 overall) rallied with 26 unanswered points to trim the SWC lead to 34-26, but the Jags tacked on one more touchdown to finally subdue the hosts in the fourth quarter.
“We made enough plays in the second half to hold on and win the game,” SWC head coach Ed Carberry said.
Jaguars quarterbacks Tofi Paopao and Luis Perez combined fro 284 net passing yards. Paopao completed 11 of 19 attempts for 173 yards with one touchdown and one interception while Perez completed 14 of 16 attempts for 111 yards with two touchdowns and one pick.
Paopao also scored two rushing touchdowns.
A total of 13 Southwestern players caught passes in the game, led by Kevin Mills with 68 yards on three catches.
The SWC rushing game amassed 140 net yards, led by Paopao with 50 yards on 12 carries and Diego Rodriguez with 43 yards on 11 carries.
The visitors scored three touchdowns in the opening quarter and two more in the second quarter.
Paopao got the Jags rolling on a 16-yard touchdown run as SWC went 84 yards on just four plays in 47 seconds to score the game’s first touchdown.
Paopao scored on a one-yard run to hike the Southwestern lead to 14-0 and 16-yard scoring pass from Perez to Xavier Tuotele upped the lead to 20-0.
Perez then hit Rodriguez on a one-yard scoring pass and Aaron Leon broke a 95-yard interception return for a touchdown to put the visitors up 34 points with 10:46 remaining in the first half.
Jesus Miranda kicked a 39-yard field goal to get the hosts on the scoreboard with 5:48 to play before the halftime break.
The floodgates then opened in the second half as the Roadrunners scored, consecutively, on a 31-yard pass from Trey Casaus to Tristian Buyck, a 25-yard interception return by Drequan Brown, a 42-yard Miranda field goal and a three-yard Vincent Guzman TD run.
Paopao connected with teammate Trevor Higgins on a 55-yard touchdown pass to increase the Southwestern lead to 41-26.
But the hosts closed out scoring on an eight-yard touchdown pass from Casaus to Marquis Kingery with 8:28 to play in the game.
Defensively, SWC allowed 450 total yards, including 326 passing yards, in sewing up the victory.
The Jaguars collected three interceptions in the game. Besides Leon, Ty Stevens and Michael Fuga also had picks.
Trevor Kemp, Sean Fuimaono and Ray Clapper each registered sacks while Blake Wilson led the visitors with nine tackles, including seven solo stops. Mike Molina also was credited with a fumble recovery.
SWC was plagued with six turnovers in the game, including four lost fumbles.
American Mountain Conference
2014 Standings
(Through Nov. 1)
Victor Valley 5-0, 8-0
Southwestern 4-1, 7-1
San Bernardino 3-2, 5-3
Desert 3-2, 4-4
Mt. San Jacinto 2-3, 3-5
San Diego Mesa 2-3, 3-5
East Los Angeles 1-4, 2-6
El Camino-Compton Center 0-5, 0-8
